A Child's Eyes
by emberelle
Summary: When Callen accidentally gets hypnosis, he reverts back to his childhood. As only he can bring himself out of it, the team must cope with him while trying to catch a high profile criminal. And if that wasn't enough, Sam declares war on squirrels.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So, I was going to do a more serious fiction, but this idea popped in my head and would not let go. The premise isn't entirely original; (I got the idea from an old _Monk_ rerun, mixed with the amazing fanfiction _Lil Sammy_ by ScifinutTX. Seriously, if any of you watch Supernatural, read it. It is one of the best written fanfictions I have ever read) but I liked the idea. Hopefully you all do too…I'm not too sure about it. No infringement is intended. Reviews are much loved!

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"All I'm saying is it is possible." Sam said, holding out his hands in a surrendering gesture as the two partners walked into the office. Kensi and Deeks looked up in interest at the discussion.

Callen glanced at him. "Yeah, Sam; it is possible for squirrels to plan and execute a covert mission _just_ to make your life miserable."

"You say that with such sarcasm. You wouldn't be saying that if you had the little rodents running over your patio furniture every day." Sam said huffily as he poured a cup of coffee. He set the Styrofoam cup down to get a lid and turned away.

"I don't have patio furniture." Callen supplemented with a smile as he snagged the coffee, already halfway back to his desk before Sam could react. Sam shook his head in annoyance.

"You don't have _furniture_." Sam snapped as he poured another cup. "But it is possible."

"What is possible?" Kensi finally asked.

"Sam thinks squirrels stole his cell phone." Callen explained, taking a sip of his pilfered caffeine.

"Oh my God. Hetty is going to kill you." Deeks said. "Those things are hard to replace."

"No, not that cell phone. My personal one." Sam explained.

"Why do you think squirrels stole it?" Kensi asked, focusing on the more unusual part of the sentence, unlike her partner.

"I left my phone out there last night, went into the house for ten minutes, and it was gone when I came back." Sam said flatly.

"And…you assume the squirrels took it?" Kensi said incredulously.

"I just said it was _possible_." Sam said. "I've been dealing with the furry little monsters all year; could be they took their revenge."

"I don't think he got a lot of sleep last night." Callen said apologetically to Kensi.

"Red squirrels or grey? Because those grey ones are evil, I tell you." Deeks said to Sam.

"Oh, no. He's enabling." Kensi groaned. Fortunately, Eric's whistle ended all discussions of devious squirrels and missing cell phones. The team took the stairs two at a time, eager for their next case. Eric, Nell and Hetty were all in their usual places, causing the team to wonder how Hetty managed to get past them without them noticing.

Eric looked excited, but maintained his calm as he brought up a grainy surveillance photo of a man in his forties, exchanging a briefcase with a young woman.

"This is Vincent Mallone." Eric indicated the man. "He's a known arms dealer, money launderer and an information broker. Every government agency has been after him for decades, but there was never enough proof to convict."

Nell took up the train of thought. "We almost got him on a murder of a Naval petty officer a year ago, but he dropped off the grid before we could pick him up."

"I remember." Sam said, and Kensi vaguely remembered the case herself. It hadn't been assigned to Callen's team, but the whole office had been outraged that the man had been a half step ahead of them.

"And when we say off the grid, we mean off the grid." Eric said, giving Sam a nod of acknowledgement. "No credit cards, no telephone calls, no popping up on security cameras."

"Until now." Deeks noted.

"Until now." Nell agreed. "This was taken at a parking garage uptown yesterday afternoon. We identified the young woman he is seen with as a Ms. Lorna Spencely."

She brought up what looked like a business card, with the same young woman smiling out at them.

"She's a therapist?" Kensi asked, reading the card in surprise.

"A hypno-therapist." Eric corrected. "Mallone has a habit of placing a lot of stock in hypnosis, crystals, fortune tellers…"

"But so far, we have no real connections between Spencely and Mallone." Nell finished.

Hetty interposed. "Director Vance wants us to find out why, after almost sixteen months of successful hiding, Mallone surfaces now."

"We'll interview Spencely, see what she can tell us." Callen said.

"Very good; but Agents Hanna and Blye will not be leaving this building."

The agents in question looked up in surprise. "Hetty? Why?" Kensi asked.

"Neither one of you has completed your mandatory partner evaluations for this quarter. You are not to leave this office until they are done." Hetty said with finality. "Agent Callen and Detective Deeks can handle Ms. Spencely."

"Together?" Kensi asked in disbelief. She could not remember Deeks and Callen ever working together, and was dubious about their ability to get along.

"Yes. I'm sure they can handle it." Hetty said simply. Callen and Deeks seemed to take the news calmly, even gleefully.

"All those times you get on me about finishing my forms." Callen shook his head at Sam as he walked by. "I am disappointed."

"Shut up." Sam snapped. Kensi silenced Deeks's smart comment with one look; she already felt a headache coming on. She hated partner evaluations, and she hadn't even started it. Almost eight pages to complete before she went home, while Deeks and Callen got to do actual work…she groaned. Could this day get any worse?

OOO

Sam reclined back on his chair, rubbing his neck. The evaluation was almost done; he would be cleared to work on whatever leads Callen and Deeks brought back. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath; maybe this day could be salvaged.

He heard a familiar voice speaking loudly; unusually loud.

"Look at that! This place is beau…beau…pretty!" Callen sounded uncharacteristically excited.

"Yes, yes it is; Cal. Let's keep our voices down so Uncle Sammy doesn't hear us." Deeks sounded incredibly nervous. This couldn't be good.

"Uncle Sammy?" Callen sounded confused, and the voices were getting louder. "I don't remember him, Uncle Marty."

"Oh, you will. You will." Deeks said, still nervous. At this exchange Sam opened his eyes and stood up. He was going to find out what was going on, right now. He took two steps toward the door when he was tackled from the side.

"What the…" He steadied himself and looked down in surprise. Callen was hugging him tight.

"I remember you!" He said in excitement, looking up at Sam, then frowned. "But I…I don't know why…" He tilted his head, then grinned. "Do you see that?" He released Sam and pointed toward an intern rolling a rack of clothes from Wardrobe. "Bright colors!"

Sam turned and glared at Deeks, who seemed to be trying to melt into the wall behind him. Sam folded his arms and growled darkly.

"What did you _do_ to him?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Wow, thank you guys for all your support! I almost didn't post this fic; I am glad you guys are enjoying it! For this chapter, I took a little liberty with the medical things, but I kept as close as I could. Reviews are greatly welcomed! _

_NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA _

Deeks backed away, hands up in a soothing gesture. "Hey, hey, hey. It's not my fault."

Sam growled again. "You have three seconds to tell me what happened. One-"

"Hey, hey." Deeks repeated, feeling like his very life hung in the balance. Maybe it did. "It's not my fault; it was Callen's idea."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What was Callen's idea?"

"We paid a visit to that hypno-therapist, but Callen said we didn't want to tip our hand. He posed as a walk-in patient, encouraged by his friend-me-to come in. While Spencely was busy with him, I was snooping around to find any leads. Callen was supposed to plant one of Eric's bugs, but…something happened." Deeks swallowed. "Apparently, the hypno-therapy worked. He swore he had a trick to avoid hypnotism…I didn't know!"

"What do you mean, the hypno-therapy worked?" Sam growled again.

"Well, even Spencely seemed surprised. She said she was trying to take him back before his trust issues developed, and…apparently he got stuck in his childhood."

"What?" Sam exploded. Callen, who had been quiet and looking from Deeks to Sam in confusion, shrank away.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sammy." Callen sounded so contrite Sam blinked.

"Don't call me that. It's Sam. Just…Sam." He said huffily. He turned back to Deeks. The detective hurriedly continued.

"Spencely said she had never seen anything like that before, then basically kicked us out, telling me to find him a doctor. Callen seemed to remember bits and pieces of his life; he recognized me but didn't know my name. It was pulling teeth to get him to come with me; he kept saying he wasn't supposed to go with strangers." Deeks shook his head.

Sam turned slowly and looked at his partner. Callen had his hands shoved in his pockets, with his head ducked, but his eyes were still on Sam. The ex-SEAL took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"We need to tell Hetty. She'll know what to do." Deeks said, but Sam cut him off with a glare.

"You really want to tell Hetty?"

"Tell me what, Mr. Hanna?" The woman materialized, as if speaking about her drew her to the agents.

"That…Deeks filed the wrong form requesting funds for our last mission." Sam said quickly. Hetty looked skeptically at the two, and Sam realized Callen had disappeared from his side.

"Is that true, Detective?" She turned and examined the nervous liaison officer.

"Eh…yeah. I'm not sure what to do about it." Deeks said, while Sam looked around the office in a panic.

"I would suggest you stop lying to me." Hetty said gently, without anger. "What did you do?"

"Um…" Deeks looked at Sam helplessly. Hetty turned to the large man herself, eyes piercing through him.

"I…" Sam trailed off as he finally spotted his partner. He was apparently fixated by the box of doughnuts on the table behind their desks, sneaking one of the rare powdered ones out with a supreme air of guilt.

Sam tore his eyes away before Hetty could see what he was staring at and mumbled unintelligibly. Hetty frowned.

"Mr. Hanna?" She prompted. "My patience is wearing thin."

"It's…" Sam tried to think of something, but his voice caught in throat as Hetty turned to the bullpen and spotted Callen.

"Agent Callen, your partner has suddenly developed a curious case of unresponsiveness. Do you know anything about this?"

Sam felt his blood slowly freeze and saw Deeks shoot him a terrified glance. Callen, realizing Hetty was talking to him, looked confused and guilty, hiding the doughnut behind his back. He shrugged, shuffling one foot nervously. "I don't know."

His voice was slightly lilting and almost hesitant. Hetty looked surprised, staring at her lead agent for what seemed like an eternity.

"Come here, please." She said quietly. Callen looked at Deeks, almost as if asking for permission-something that greatly bothered Sam. At a short nod from the Detective, Callen came closer slowly.

He stopped short in front of Hetty, looking down at her with wide eyes, feigning innocence. Hetty pursed her lips. "Are you feeling well, Mister Callen?"

Callen snickered. "You called me _mister_." He seemed to think that was hilarious.

"Would you prefer miss, Agent Callen?" Hetty asked with a slight trace of an unidentifiable emotion in her voice.

"I'm a _boy_!" Callen seemed offended, frowning. Hetty's eyebrows drew together.

"What's going on?" Kensi hissed, coming up behind Deeks. The scruffy man gave a start, then glared at her.

"I'll tell you later." He whispered back. Kensi folded her arms in amusement and leaned against the wall, watching the scene unfold.

"Agent Callen, you never answered my question. Are you feeling well? Do you have any injuries?" Hetty asked, sharply.

He grinned. "Well, I got this really cool bruise on my elbow, wanna see?" He started pushing his sleeve up with a wide, excited smile.

"Mister Callen, this is not a joke. If you are not well, I will send you home." Hetty said, eyes piercing through Callen. Callen's face changed slightly, something changing in his eyes.

"Uncle Marty? Did I do something wrong?" He turned to Deeks with a plaintive expression on his face. Sam ground his teeth; why was Callen turning to _Deeks_ again? Sam also realized that that was beside the point; as both he and Deeks were about to be murdered by Hetty.

Kensi and Hetty had mirroring expressions of incredulousness on their faces. Kensi seemed to be thinking this was a joke, while Hetty swallowed roughly. Callen looked down, and shuffled his feet again.

"Callen?" Hetty's voice was very gentle. "Will you look at me?"

He did, looking saddened. "I didn't mean to make you mad, ma'am."

That statement made Hetty's eyes go wide. She turned very slowly to Deeks. "What did you _do _to my lead agent?"

"Why does _everyone_ assume this is _my_ fault?" Deeks said, offended. "It was his idea!"

OOO

Sam rubbed his head, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. Hetty had dragged the entire team into the Op Center, dismissing all the technicians but Nell and Eric.

"Get me Nate." She snapped once, and Eric jumped to attention.

"Hetty…he might not answer." He said slowly.

"He will." Hetty said. "Now do it."

Nell was openly staring at Callen, who was wandering around the Op Center looking at all the screens. He got excited.

"Uncle…I mean, Sam! Look at this!" He pointed eagerly at a monitor. Sam hastily walked over and put his hand on Callen's arm.

"Don't touch." He cautioned. Callen frowned slightly. "I won't."

Nell cleared her throat. "Um…is Callen feeling alright?"

"I have this really cool-" Callen started, but Sam cut him off.

"Not really." He said, then turned to Callen. "Callen, this is Nell. Do you remember her?"

Callen pursed his lips, cocking his head. "Kinda…" He drew the word out, then shrugged. "I don't know. Is she my new fos..fos…" Callen struggled over the word. "Foster mom?"

Nell's mouth dropped open, and Eric's eyebrows flew up so high Sam idly wondered if they would actually leave his face. On the screen behind them, Dr. Nate Getz's face appeared. He cleared his throat.

"Hey guys." He said. "Good to hear from you." He glanced nervously towards the door of what appeared to be a hotel room. Foreign voices could be heard, but distant. He relaxed.

Hetty spoke. "This is not a social call, Dr. Getz. I need you to tell me everything you can hypno-therapy."

Nate's forehead creased. "Well…in licensed, properly trained individuals, it can be used to help treat things like addictions, depression, and long-standing paranoia stemming from suppressed memories. But in unqualified hands, it can actually do more harm than good."

"Oh, we found that out." Deeks muttered. Sam elbowed him sharply.

"Let's say, hypothetically, a therapist took someone back to their childhood, and the patient became…stuck." Kensi said. "What happens?"

Nate looked thoughtful. "Well, it depends on what you mean by stuck."

"He…starts acting like that point in his life." Kensi elaborated. Nate looked pensive.

"Well, that's not very common, but _has_ happened before. Usually, the patient won't come out of that hypnosis for a couple reasons; either he feels security in the trance that he does not have in his actual life, or there is a block preventing him from moving on, something he suppressed coming back to the surface. The patient will come out of it himself, once whatever is holding him back is resolved in his mind."

Hetty spoke again. "So there is nothing anyone else can do?"

"Well, if the therapist himself cannot bring the patient out…no. The closest people to the patient must keep a close eye on the patient, of course; especially if he is acting like a child. But there isn't much they can do." Nate frowned. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"Of course, Doctor." Hetty brought him up to speed, telling Eric and Nell at the same time. Through the whole exchange, Callen kept wandering around the room, out of sight of Nate's webcam. As Hetty explained, Nate's face grew more and more perplexed.

"You say he acts like a child, but remembers some things of his adult life? People, for example?" He asked for clarification.

Sam broke in. "Yes, he remembers the people but not how he knows them. He seems to remember this building; but not what it is to him."

Nate rubbed his chin briefly. "That could be a good sign; he remembers bits and pieces of his normal life. That is the first step to come out of this…stage. Encourage that, but do not push him. It would be helpful if he is around someone he trusts at all times."

Everyone looked at Sam. The ex-SEAL nodded. "I won't let him out of my sight."

"Where is he?" Kensi said suddenly. Sam looked around and mentally swore as he realized Callen was nowhere to be seen.

"As soon as I _find_ him, I won't let him out of my sight." Sam amended, getting the clearance from Hetty to go look for his partner. Kensi and Deeks were dismissed as well.

Hetty watched them go, then turned back to Nate. "Tell it to me straight, Dr. Getz. I know you were holding something back."

Nate paused. "Well…Callen will be in an extremely vulnerable state right now. He would be very susceptible to suggestion right now; he may have the mind of a child but he is still a highly trained agent. And, aside from that, if…when." He corrected himself. "He comes out of this trance, the memories or emotions from his childhood will no longer be repressed. It _could_ have a lasting impact on his personality and mental health." He spoke carefully. Hetty nodded, then thanked him for his information.

"I wish I could be there for you guys, but…" He trailed off meaningfully, and Hetty nodded. "You have your mission." She said.

Nate nodded. "But please, if you need anything; you know where to find me." He switched off his webcam, plunging the Op Center into murky darkness. As other monitors flickered on, Hetty turned to Eric and Nell, who had not spoken a word for a long time.

"I trust this conversation will be kept in confidence, Mr. Beal? Ms. Jones?"

The analysts nodded slowly, glancing at each other as Hetty left, muttering "Where is he?"

"Never a dull moment around here, is there?" Eric said sardonically, and Nell nodded.

"Just when I think I've seen it all."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thanks for all your comments, favorites, and alerts! I am getting into the swing of this story; I am glad you all encouraged me to keep with it! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Reviews help my muse keep running! _

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Sam's headache had tripled in the last ten minutes. Callen was a master of blending in, and apparently that skill hadn't diminished in his current state. Sam wondered if that skill had been developed in Callen's childhood; that would certainly explain why he could not find his partner.

Sam had combed the building, to no avail. Callen had seemingly vanished into thin air. Sam took a deep breath and tried to think like a young G; it was no help. He could barely think like an _adult_ Callen on the best days. Deeks and Kensi seemed to be having no luck either, but that was no real surprise.

Sam had a thought and heading back up to Ops. Eric looked up as Sam walked over to him.

"Eric, can you pull Callen's cell phone GPS up?"

Eric shook his head and help up Callen's cell phone. "Already done; it was on his desk."

Sam gave a frustrated grunt. Eric paused, then carefully spoke. "Callen might have left the building, Sam. Do you want me to start looking for him on security cams?"

Sam's breath hitched slightly at the thought of Callen out in LA with his mind scrambled like it was. "Did you really need to ask that, Eric?"

The computer tech looked sheepish. "No…" He started typing, bringing up several cameras near the base.

Suddenly, Sam thought of a place he hadn't looked. He left the communications center hurriedly, to Eric's relief.

Sam pushed open the door to the incineration room, feeling the heat from the furnaces leak past him.

"Callen? Why are you in here?" Sam asked, spotting his partner standing in front of one of the furnaces.

Callen jumped, looking at Sam with an expression Sam was familiar with. It was one that showed Callen had been caught doing something he shouldn't, and would spin out a creative, outlandish excuse that inevitably got him out of trouble. Sam felt comforted in the familiarity; and his hopes rose…until Callen spoke.

"I'm sor..sorry, Sam." Callen lowered his head, but not his eyes. They were still focused on Sam nervously. Sam sighed; so much for hoping. "Why did you run off? We were worried about you."

Callen made a remorseful face. "I'm sorry. I…didn't wanna stay in there anymore."

Sam held the door open and waved his hand at Callen. "Come out here; it's too hot in here."

Callen followed obediently, head turning to look around him cautiously. "Sam…am I sick? Am I gonna die?"

Sam was caught off guard. "Why would you ask that?" He said, stopping short. Callen looked at him, biting his bottom lip.

"Cause…that little lady was talking to a doctor about me." Callen said uneasily. "And doctors are never good."

Sam relaxed a little, then started laughing. Callen looked startled, and Sam was himself, he realized. It struck him funny that Callen hated doctors even as a kid. Hearing _anything_ familiar coming from his partner made Sam feel things weren't as bleak as he thought.

" 'Snot funny!" Callen insisted, putting his hands on his hips and frowning. "Doctors give you all sorts of icky medi...medicines and they give you shots. With _needles_." Callen shuddered. "Big ones!" He said it like it was the most horrible thing in the world. "And if you are really sick, you die; and you talk to doctors to see if you are sick. Am I sick?"

"Not exactly, Callen." Sam reassured his partner. "You are just…a little mixed up right now."

"Mixed up?" Callen frowned. "There was this old lady who lived next door to me, and she used to try to eat her checkers and laughed _all_ the time. My fos…foster mom said she was mixed up." Callen looked at Sam. "Am I going to start eating checkers?"

"No, Callen; you aren't going to be eating checkers." Sam said, shaking his head and rubbing his head.

"Wow, and I thought Hetty was strict with _my_ diet." Deeks said, as Kensi and he walked up to Sam and Callen. Callen looked at Deeks for a long moment.

"You look like Shaggy." He said suddenly, his face creasing as if deep in thought. Deeks rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha. So original. Laugh it up." Deeks muttered.

Kensi looked at Sam. "Hetty wants you to make sure Callen is comfortable here." She said meaningfully Sam understood that that was to mean Callen was to stay inside the OSP office.

"I'll watch him." Sam said wearily, wondering how he was going to keep up with his energetic partner. He could barely keep up with him when Callen was acting like an adult.

As if to prove his mental point, Callen had started wondering again. He followed his friend, looking back at Deeks and Kensi. "Ask Hetty if I can talk to her, would you?"

Kensi nodded, and she and Deeks headed up the stairs to Op center.

Callen had wondered into the weapons room, and Sam quickly intercepted him before he picked up a gun.

"You need to be very careful in here, Callen." Sam said patiently, having a hard time adjusting to his partner acting like a young child. Callen frowned slightly.

"I'm being careful, Sam." He said, picking up a sharp dagger and looked at it momentarily, then threw it at a target against the wall. It stuck dead center.

Sam felt his eyes go wide as Callen looked at him with pride. "I did it!" Then he looked confused. "How did I do that, Sam? I don't remember doing that before."

Sam swallowed, realizing that even though Callen was acting like a child, he was still his lethally trained self. Sam was going to have to keep a very close watch on him.

"You are good at things like that, Callen." He said cautiously.

Callen frowned. "Why can't I remember, Sam?"

Sam sighed, leaning against a table. "It's…hard to explain, Callen."

"Oh, okay." Callen was already distracted by a pair of nun-chucks. He started to swing them slowly, getting excited. "These are like the stuff ninjas use, huh?" He asked.

Sam was struggling to keep up with the random bouncing from topic to topic Callen was going through. Callen cocked his head suddenly.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam said resignedly, sensing the endless stream of chatter-so against Callen's nature- was not over yet.

"I'm hungry."

OOO

Callen was sitting at his desk, contentedly eating the burger Kensi had so graciously gone and bought for him.

"What else you got there, Kens?" Deeks asked, looking up from his own desk. Sam was intently working on his laptop, absently taking a sip of coffee every few minutes.

Kensi was holding a grocery bag full of stuff. She gave a regretful little smile and pulled out a coloring book and some crayons, a deck of cards, and some comic books.

"I thought you might like something to do…" She said cautiously, almost afraid Callen would be upset. It was strange for her to adjust to seeing her capable boss acting this way, especially because he _looked_ just fine.

"Wow! Thanks, Kensi!" He said, taking the things with all the excitement of a young boy on Christmas morning. He got up and suddenly gave her a bear hug, surprising her greatly.

"You're welcome, Callen." She smiled at him as he pulled back, distracted by the top comic book. He flipped it open and started reading. Kensi was relieved he remembered how to read; she hadn't even considered that when she grabbed them. But he was apparently absorbed in the comic, allaying her worries.

Deeks was shaking his head slowly, glancing at her as she took her seat at her desk. "This qualifies as the strangest day of my life." He admitted.

"I'm right there with you." Kensi admitted. "What about you, Sam? Sam?" She looked over at him when he didn't respond. "What are you so wrapped up in over there?"

Sam just grunted. Deeks, curious, got up and walked over, looking over Sam's shoulder.

"Dude, no way!" He said excitedly, seemingly drawn in as well. "That is so…wicked."

"What are you doing?" Kensi asked, standing up and crossing over, looking over Deeks and Sam's shoulders.

"Are you serious?" She said, seeing the article for the "Squirrel Terminator 2000." It was a siren-like device that was supposed to drive squirrels away, but only perceptible to rodent ears.

"Dead serious. I would just poison the little vermin, but...the kids…" He said helplessly.

"Oh, right. Not a good thing if they found it." Deeks nodded. "Have you considered one of those plastic owl things?"

Sam glared at Deeks. "That's for pigeons, not squirrels."

"Hey, just trying to be helpful." Deeks said, holding up his hands. Kensi shook her head.

"You are serious about the squirrel thing?"

"Oh, it's war now." Sam said solemnly. Kensi rolled her eyes and returned to her desk, glancing over at Callen. He was still reading, oblivious to the entire conversation.

Suddenly, Eric appeared at the top of the stairs. "Hey guys, I think I got something on Malone."

As the three fit agents stood, Callen dropped the comic book, holding his head sharply.

"Sa-Sam? It...hurts!" He suddenly gasped, bending over and pawing at his forehead. Sam was crossing the floor in a moment, concern flooding his voice.

"Callen? Callen!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: So sorry for the delay; I've had some family issues this week that have prevented me from writing. This chapter isn't as polished as I would like because of that, but I felt I should post something for my wonderful readers! :) Thanks for all your support; I love hearing from you! _

_NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA _

Sam heaved a deep breath as Callen leaned against him, rubbing his head and making a strange, strangled noise in his throat.

"Easy, G. Easy." He said, turning to Kensi. "Can you-"

"Hetty's on her way." Eric cut in, sensing what Sam was about to ask. The older agent turned all his attention to his partner, who was staring at the floor with a frown, no longer making pained sounds.

"You okay?" Sam asked gently as the rest of the group stood around watching anxiously.

"It still hurts a little." Callen said, making a face sitting up straight and blinking once. By this time Hetty had joined the group in the bullpen, face set in a concerned mask.

"What is going on here?" She asked shortly, but not sternly.

"Don't look at me!" Deeks said in protest as she stared at him pointedly. "Man, you screw up once or twice and everything is suddenly _your _fault."

Kensi backhanded his chest sternly. Deeks stopped his half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood without much protest.

"We are not sure." Sam answered Hetty's question. "One minute he was fine, the next he was doubled over in pain."

Hetty looked at Callen, pursing her lips slightly. "I will call Dr. Linscomb."

"Doctor?" Callen gasped, eyes going wide. "No, please! I'm fine!" He tried to stand, almost falling, but pasting on a fake smile. "See?"

"Sit down, please." Hetty said firmly. Sam put a hand on Callen's shoulder until his partner reluctantly sat down, still rubbing at his head.

"Take him to the boatshed and keep him there until Dr. Linscomb gets there." She instructed Sam firmly.

"That shouldn't be too difficult." Deeks said confidently. Eric, Kensi, Hetty and Sam stared at him. "Oh...right." He said, remembering who they were talking about.

"The rest of you, Eric had data he was going to fill you in on. We cannot stop in our tracks." She did not look pleased ordering them back to work. "Go to it."

"Who's Dr. Linscomb?" Eric asked as Hetty headed to her office. Kensi answered as she and Deeks followed the analyst up to the op center.

"He's an old friend of Hetty's. One of the few doctors she trusts. Hopefully Callen remembers him."

"He's met Dr. Linscomb?" Deeks guessed.

"More than once. Reluctantly, too. I've never met someone who hated doctors more." Kensi frowned. "I hope he doesn't…react badly."

OOO

Sam watched the doctor like a hawk, arms folded and face set like a stone. Hetty had a similar expression on her face as the doctor ran a hand over Callen's forehead. Callen made a face, but didn't squirm away this time.

"Are you sure you are alright, James?" Hetty asked with a slight trace of chagrin. The doctor nodded, glancing at his bandaged left pointer finger.

"It is not the first time I have been bitten, Hetty. I will be fine." He smiled kindly, still examining Callen.

At a glare from Sam, Callen muttered quietly. "Sorry." He did not sound at all apologetic.

"Oh, it is quite alright. I should have warned you I was going to touch your head." Dr. Linscomb said jovially. "And at least we know nothing is wrong with your teeth."

To the doctor's credit, he had shown very little surprise or incredulity when they explained the situation to him, merely nodding and accepting their word. He had treated Callen much as he would an unruly child, with a light hearted voice and easy manner. Callen, as usual, had hated the very idea of an examination, protesting vocally until Sam had silenced him with a look.

Finally, the doctor stepped back with a neutral expression on his face. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Callen just glared at him. Dr. Linscomb chuckled, putting his stethoscope in his black bag. Sam didn't even know that still carried black bags…it seemed so old-fashioned. But then again, Dr. Linscomb was a rather old-fashioned man.

"May I speak with your friends a moment alone, Callen?" He asked with a smile. The agent gave a careless shrug, eyes locked on Dr. Linscomb's bag uneasily.

The doctor took Hetty and Sam aside and spoke to them in a low voice.

"Very curious. In almost fifty years of practice I have only seen this once." He shook his head, rubbing his white beard absently. "Physically, he is perfectly healthy. His blood pressure is excellent; he shows no sign of a concussion or other trauma. But mentally…that is something quite different."

Sam nodded, remembering their brief conversation with Nate. "Then why was he in so much pain earlier?"

Dr. Linscomb narrowed his eyes in contemplation. "What happened right before his episode?"

Sam thought back, reciting roughly what was going on. "Well…he was reading a comic book…Eric came up and said he had information about our case-"

"That's it!" The doctor said quickly. "Something triggered his response. Something in his mind was trying to make itself known."

"But why would it hurt him?" Sam pressed worriedly.

The doctor frowned unhappily. "I wish I knew. Psychology is not my main field, and even if it were…this is a rare occurrence, Sam. I'm not sure what to tell you, except that it is ultimately a good sign. It means Callen's mind is trying to heal itself."

Sam nodded, looking over at where his partner sat, staring intently around the building. "So…his memory is being triggered by certain things?"

"Yes. And it is probably going to happen more and more. I doubt it will be to the degree of this episode, but just in case, I will leave you some painkillers."

"Thank you, James." Hetty said sincerely. "And I will trust on your discretion?"

"As always." The kindly doctor handed Sam a bottle of small white tablets. "He is only to take these if he is having an episode that is particularly painful, and even then he cannot take more than eight a day. Two is a dose, full glass of water, the usual."

Sam took the bottle and committed the instructions to memory, the familiarity of the action comforting him strangely. This was something he could do for his friend.

"Give him time, I am sure he will recover." Dr. Linscomb picked up his bag and looked at Callen.

"I would like to check back up on him in a few days, if that is alright."

"By all means." Hetty said. "I will walk you to your car, Doctor."

"I would be honored." The doctor went to follow the small woman, but Sam halted him with a final question.

"Doctor? How long did it take for that other case to recover?" Sam asked, forehead furrowed.

The doctor hesitated sheepishly. "Well…actually…he threw himself off a building before he could completely recover. Something about being Superman…" At Sam's shocked expression, Dr. Linscomb hastened to amend his statement. "But I am sure Callen is more stable than that."

He glanced down at his bandaged hand and frowned slightly. "On the other hand, you might want to invest in one of those baby-leash backpacks." He said, as Hetty suddenly hustled him out of the boatshed.

"He's gone?" Callen's voice was hopeful as Sam turned, a little shaken, to his friend.

"Yes, he's gone." Sam said absently, checking his phone to see what calls he had missed. Eric had called three times but left no message.

"I'm almost sorry I bit him…he didn't even have any needles." Callen said; having been silent almost the whole examination, he seemed to be making up for lost time.

"That's nice." Sam said tiredly, putting the bottle of tablets in his jacket pocket.

"Are we going back to that other place now? I like it there." Callen said brightly. "The people are nice and it has lots of cool stuff in it." Callen looked excited. "I kinda remember it."

Sam suddenly had an idea. "Actually…we are going somewhere else. Somewhere you will like just as much."

_And might help you remember who you are. _He added silently.

OOO

Callen looked over at Sam from the passenger seat. He didn't know where Sam was going, but he knew that it would be okay. Callen wanted to fidget, but didn't want to look bored. Sam seemed really excited about wherever they were going; Callen didn't want him to think Callen wasn't excited too.

There were cars all around them, making it hard for them to go anywhere. Callen felt something…almost familiar about sitting in the car, waiting for the cars to move, talking with Sam. Although…from what he could remember-and that wasn't much-Sam did most of the talking. This time, he was doing most of the talking. As the traffic began to move steadily, Callen thought of a question he wanted to ask.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"Why does everyone call me Callen, but you call me G?"

Sam didn't answer, and Callen looked over in concern. The large man had his hands gripping the wheel tightly, eyes locked on the road. Callen felt his heart sink. Did he make Sam mad?

"It's…" Sam began.

"Hard to explain." Callen finished. He was getting used to that answer by now.

"Yeah." Sam said regretfully. "We're here."

Callen looked at the small, pretty house they had pulled up in front of. Sam got out of the car and Callen followed him, not sure why it felt so normal to follow the man.

"Do you remember this place?" Sam asked eagerly, stopping on the front porch.

Callen looked over it, nodding slowly. "A little…"

He remembered a laughing little girl, a smiling man and woman…a creaky floor grate…carving something on a door. But that was it.

"This is your house." Sam said patiently. "Come on."

He opened the door with a key, letting Callen go ahead of him into the bright, sunshine-filled house.

"You mean…my new house? With my new fos-foster family?" Callen said, feeling strangely disappointed. He didn't want to go live with someone new. Again. He wanted to stay with his cool new friends.

"Have they not moved in yet?" Callen asked, looking around the empty house. There was a chair with some really big books, but nothing else. "There's no stuff."

"Tell me about it." Sam mumbled.

"What?" Callen looked back at the man, but he shook his head. "Never mind. And …this is your house. All yours."

Callen bit the bottom of his lip, feeling that sharp pain coming back, but not as bad. "I kinda remember…"

"Hold on, G." Sam said, answering his cell phone. "Eric…yes…really?"

Callen lost interest in the conversation, wandering around the living room. He spotted a strange plant and a tin box on the fireplace, and was making his way over to them when Sam spoke.

"Hey, buddy? Eric's found something he wants me to look at. We have to go, but we'll come back, okay?"

Callen picked up the box, and nodded. "Okay, Sam."

He felt like that box would help him somehow. He turned and followed Sam back to the car. Sam had noticed the box and had a funny expression on his face when Callen set it on his lap while buckling his seat-belt. Sam didn't say anything about it and Callen didn't either.

Somehow, he felt like they really didn't have to say anything.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: I am __**so**__ sorry for the delay, guys. A near-death experience sort of robbed my inclination to write last week, but I am getting back in the swing of things now. This is kind of short, and not nearly as polished as I would like-nor as funny-but I felt I needed to post something. I am back on a writing schedule so updates should be more frequent (and humorous). I hope you all are still with me! :) _

NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA

"We got this video from a park on the other side of LA. That's our therapist…and that's Mallone." Nell said with emphasis as the two figures came on camera, sitting on a bench, seemingly unaware of the camera.

"We found out something very interesting. Mallone has an aunt named Cheryl Mallone, married name Spencely, deceased. Her daughter, a Miss Lorna Spencely, is his only living relative; his cousin." Eric said with a smirk.

"So there is our connection." Sam said, excitement leaking into his voice. "So now all we need to know is why he came crawling out of hiding now, and how she fits into this."

Nell nodded. "As far as we can tell from reading their lips, Mallone is asking about a safe deposit box, we can't see Lorna's lips…then as you can see he becomes very agitated and asks her something about how did 'they' find him… then he stands and begins to storm away. She follows him…hands him this envelope and leaves."

There was a loud, violent crash and a patter of angry voices from outside the room.

Sam nodded, watching the video clip Eric had brought up; trying to ignore the commotion. He thought he would leave Callen with Deeks and Kensi while he watched a surveillance video Eric had found; he didn't want Callen to trigger another episode so soon. It sounded like that was not a good idea.

"Do you…want to go check on that?" Eric asked hesitantly.

"No." Sam said shortly.

"Okay." Nell said, shooting a glance at Eric before clearing her throat. "Maybe you should..."

Sam sighed and headed out to find out what was going on. He stopped short at the sight of Deeks, soaked, looking irate and concerned at the same time. Kensi was following him, leading Callen in front of her.

At the sight of the ex-SEAL, Kensi threw her hands in the air and gave a low sound of something like worried annoyance.

"Look what _your partner_ did." She said gesturing to Deeks.

"Of course, he does something wrong and he's _my_ partner." Sam sighed. "What happened?"

"He had to go to the restroom. He didn't remember where they were, so Deeks took him." Kensi explained. "I…don't really know what happened after that."

Sam turned to Deeks, who was wringing out his sleeve and glancing at Callen with apprehension on his face. Callen was standing, arms folded and chin jutted out. Sam realized Callen was copying him and dropped his arms. Callen did the same a half beat later. Sam looked at Deeks, wanting an explanation to his wet state.

"He was fine until he went to wash his hands. He had the water running and looked up in the mirror for the first time and he…went into some kind panic attack." Deeks explained, voice soft like trying to sooth a savage animal. Something not quite fear-but close-flickered in his eyes and Sam realized he was clenching his fists.

"Panic attack? That is not G's style. At all." Sam said firmly.

"I know." Deeks said. "That's why I went over to him…" He looked down at himself. "The water was still running and Callen just sort of…snapped, I guess. Shoved me under the water like he was going to drown me in a bathroom sink. Would have been a horrible way to go."

"I'm sorry, Marty!" Callen suddenly burst out, actually looking remorseful. "I just…fr...freaked out."

Deeks shook his head briskly like a dog, spraying Kensi with the water. She glared at him and raised her hand to smack him when she saw Callen flinch. She dropped her hand but managed to kick Deeks when Callen turned to Sam.

"Why did you freak out, G?" Sam asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The guy in the mirror…wasn't me. He was all old and stuff like you." Callen said with a frown.

Sam mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. Of course seeing himself would trigger something in Callen's memory. He wondered, not for the first time, if explaining everything to Callen would help. But Nate and Dr. Linscomb both forbad it, saying he needed to remember on his own. Then something sank in.

"Wait…old like me?" Sam's head shot up.

"Yeah. Old." Callen said, making a face.

Kensi cleared her throat. "Do you want to tell same about the window or should I?"

Sam hid a smile at her authoritative, reproving, but still warm tone. He had a feeling she would make a great mother some day. Callen looked down and didn't say anything for a moment.

"Sorry." He said again. "I didn't mean to."

"Window?" Hetty said, appearing out of nowhere. All the agents jumped except Callen, who looked at her curiously.

"Um…" Deeks and Kensi looked at each other uneasily. Sam, still in the dark, tried to look in control and Callen just had that curiosity on his face.

"Tell me, Detective Deeks. I am most enthralled by your little tale." Hetty said with her arms folded. That was a bad sign.

"Er…well, after Callen had his little episode, I was bringing him to Sam for those painkillers because he was in a lot of pain, you know. And on the way, he heard something or saw something and just grabbed this broom from an intern and started swinging like some ninja warrior, yelling for everyone to get down. Well…he swung too wide and broke a downstairs window." Deeks rambled nervously.

"Indeed." Hetty said with no inflection in her voice.

"But it's just a small window…easy fix!" Kensi jumped in. Sam felt dizzy. Something bad was about to happen.

"So…from what I just heard…Agent Callen tried to kill another agent and caused damage to the OSP office all in the space of fifteen minutes."

"Well…I don't think he was trying to kill me…" Deeks said awkwardly, then stopped at Hetty's look.

"Strange. It usually takes him two hours." Hetty said, with a strained smile. "I know Agent Callen is not capable of controlling these…attacks of his. And hopefully they are a sign that he is progressing. But unfortunately…I now have to inform the Director of what is going on." She sounded genuinely regretful. "And even more unfortunately, he is in town."

All the agents felt their hearts sink. Callen just tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, a mannerism so familiar Sam half expected him to start giving orders to the team. But Callen didn't say a word.

Hetty sighed. "I will call the Director."

As she spoke, a clock began chiming loudly.

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls…" Deeks muttered.

"It tolls for thee." Hetty finished solemnly.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: This chapter was difficult to write for some reason…Director Vance gave me a little trouble. And then my computer started fighting me. But, here it is! I hope you all are still enjoying it, and I appreciate the notes of support you guys have been giving me! It has made a really hard time much easier to cope with! :) _

NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA

The team sat nervously in the bullpen, waiting for the Director to arrive. Hetty had opted not to tell him over the phone about Callen's condition, merely asking him to come in. The small woman was not, in fact, with the team. She was awaiting the deathblow in her office, face seemingly carefree and relaxed.

They had sent Callen up to stay with Eric and Nell; feeling it would be best to keep him occupied and out of sight when the Director arrived. He had been reluctant and only agreed when Sam asked him to. It had been for the best, but his absence just further reminded the team of the bizarre scenario they were now caught in. Kensi and Deeks were busy reading Mallone's file, trying not to look at the door…trying to ignore the sinking feeling in their stomachs.

Sam was just staring at Callen's desk, trying not to growl in frustration. He had been through some crazy situations with his partner, too many to count, in fact. But he had never been in something like this before.

"What do we do?" Kensi finally said, breaking the silence and causing everyone assembled to jump.

"We tell Vance the truth." Sam replied, but the female agent shook her head once. "No, not about that. About Callen. How can we help him? We can't just sit here!" She sighed, sounding overwhelmed.

"I wish I knew what to tell you, Kensi. But I don't. I just don't know." Sam said, hoping he didn't sound as defeated as he felt. "I have been trying to think of solutions for the past hour and I have nothing."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. We'll find something." Deeks said with a small, encouraging smile

"How, Deeks? It isn't like there is a section in the Field Manual earmarked _'What to Do In Case Your Lead Field Agent Manages to Get Himself Hypnotized and Acts Like a Child.'"_. Kensi snapped, then made an apologetic face.

"Frankly, I'd be more concerned if there was." Deeks commented lightly. "Although, there is a section called _'What to Do If Your Partner Believes He is a Werewolf.'"_

"Seriously?" Kensi asked in incredulity, looking at Sam. "Is he serious?"

Sam nodded. "Unfortunately. Anytime something happens and there aren't regulations for it, they try and add it."

Kensi looked thoughtful. "Remind me to check that out next time Deeks is howling at the moon."

"For the last time, I was singing along with _Werewolves in London_!" Deeks said with mock offence.

The banter had cleared the tense atmosphere for a few minutes, but as the conversation wound down, it returned. The clock dragged on.

Sam suddenly sat up straight, catching sight of the Director in Hetty's office. He was talking to the diminutive force of nature with a neutral expression on his face.

"How'd he sneak past us?" Kensi asked in surprise. Sam shook his head and stood. Deeks and Kensi followed him as they walked up to Hetty's office, standing back respectfully as Director Vance turned to them.

"Alright, Hetty. I've told you what I came for, now tell me why you called me and demanded I come down here…how did you put it?" He cocked an eye-brow. " 'As soon as I can, and that better be now?' That sounds right."

Hetty nodded wordlessly and glanced around at the agents with a pensive expression. "Director…Leon. What I am about to tell you may sound…unusual. But I must ask you to dispend disbelief until I am finished."

"Don't I always?" Vance gave a small half-smile. Hetty cleared her throat and glanced at the upper level, where Callen was.

"It all began this morning…"

OOO

Callen had started pacing, and it made Eric nervous. The computer analyst honestly had no idea how to handle a man that was technically his boss acting like a young kid. He also resented the team had made him responsible for Callen while Hetty and the rest of the team explained what was going on to Director Vance.

"Here, Callen, sit down." Eric resorted to desperate measures. Callen sat obediently while Eric dug out his laptop. Normally Hetty disliked him using his private tools on work time, but he felt she would make an exception in this case.

"Here. This is a hidden object game. You try to find the things on the list in the picture before the time runs out." Eric handed the computer to Callen. "Give it a try."

Callen set his box down unenthusiastically and took the computer with a brief nod. "Okay."

Eric returned to running facial recognition for Mallone and Spencely, hoping they would pop up on a camera somewhere. He kept one eye on Callen, though. The agent had a look of pure concentration on his face and was clicking rapidly. Eric guessed he was blindly clicking the screen in hopes to find something. After about fifteen minutes, he decided to have pity on Callen and walked over to show him how to play.

"Here, do you need some…" Eric trailed off. "You are on level eighteen already?"

Callen nodded, looking up at Eric. "Is that bad?"

"No…that is really good." Eric said in disbelief. "How do you do that?"

Callen bit his bottom lip-a gesture that unsettled Eric more than he would like to admit. "I don't know, Eric. I don't know how I know anything!" He stared at the analyst with uncertainty in his eyes. "Did I do something wrong? Is that why I can't remember anything?"

Eric felt out of his depth. He wished dearly Nell hadn't left to get lunch; she would be able to handle this so much better than he could. "No, Callen; that's not why you can't remember." He gave a half-hearted grin he hoped was cheering.

"They all act scared of me." Callen said flatly. "Ever since I freaked out. I didn't mean to hurt Marty, I really didn't!" He sounded so small…Eric was not used to that. Callen was always calm and collected; Eric could handle that. He really wasn't sure how to deal with this. "Why are they scared of me?"

Eric ground his teeth for half a second. "They aren't scared of you, Callen. They are worried about you. We all are."

"But _why_?" Callen demanded, not caring that the hourglass had run out on his game. He set the computer on the ground and looked up at Eric. "What did I do? Why can't I remember? Sam took me to that house...he said it was my house. But there wasn't anything in there but books and that box." He pointed at it. "Is that why I can't remember? There is nothing _to _remember?"

"Oh, no, Callen. You have plenty to remember." Eric said clumsily. "And you will. Just stick close with us; we'll get you out of this."

Callen looked down. "But what if I hurt you guys again like I did Marty? I don't want to hurt you guys."

Eric took a deep breath, trying to channel Hetty, Sam…Dr Phil. Anyone he could think of that would be more qualified to settle the concerned agent down. "You won't. We will get you out of this. All of us."

Callen looked up with a strange look in his eyes. "You promise?"

"Promise." Eric said with finality. Callen suddenly broke out in a wide grin, startling Eric. "Thanks, Eric! If I got you guys, things _have_ to work out, huh!"

Eric gave a humorless chuckle. "Of course. Things have to."

_I'm just not sure how. _He added silently. Then an idea occurred to him. He snapped his fingers with a satisfied expression.

"What?" Callen asked with a frown.

"I'll need to talk to Nate." Eric said abruptly. "But I think I have an idea that might help you."

OOO

Hetty concluded her story, looking at the Director expressionlessly. The rest of the team practically held their breath as they watched him turn the story over in his mind.

"So you are saying…Callen currently believes he is a child?" Vance shook his head. He looked at calendar on Hetty's desk. "It isn't April first, so I know you have to be serious."

"I am deathly serious, Leon. Mr. Callen's condition is…inexplicable." Hetty said with a sigh.

The Director shifted his toothpick to the other side of his mouth. He turned to Sam with unreadable expression in his eyes. "Agent Hanna, of all my agents on all my teams, your partner manages to get tangled up in the most unusual and frustrating situations. With the exception of one other team, yours is the only one that forces me to make hard calls. And this is one time that I will have to make a hard call."

Sam felt like someone had just forced an anvil down his throat. "Yes, sir." He said respectfully.

"Agent Callen, by all of your own mouths, is mentally unfit to act as an agent. He has caused property damage to this office and physically assaulted a fellow agent. I can't just ignore that. Nor can I ignore his brilliant record and dedication to this organization and country. Through no fault of his own, he is caught up in a situation that is beyond his control." Vance shook his head. "I cannot allow him to remain in an agent's capacity, and he cannot be left without supervision. He has too many targets on his back to take him to a normal facility for treatment…" The Director trailed off. "Not that they would do him much good. Hetty informs me Dr. Getz believes it would cause him more harm than good to be separated from your team. I concur."

He was silent for a long moment. "I will remain in LA for the duration of this case, until Agent Callen is cured or it is proved beyond a shadow of a doubt he cannot be treated. Agent Callen will be kept under care by at least one of this team at all times, under my supervision. He will have to turn in his badge and gun until his mental faculties are restored. He will also have to reimburse the OSP office for the damage. I will make no further action on the supposed assault, unless Detective Deeks wants to press charges."

Deeks shook his head adamantly. "No."

"Then I will put it in my report as a stress-related panic attack and we will let it go."

"Thank you, Director." Sam said sincerely.

"Don't thank me." Vance said, equally as sincere. "You will still have your full case load, plus the responsibility of watching Agent Callen. If you cannot handle it…I will have to take further action."

"It won't be a problem, sir." Kensi cut in. "We can handle it."

"See that you do." The Director looks at all of them. "Callen is a good agent and a damned fine man. I will do everything I can to help him. But my power can only go so far."

"We understand, Director." Hetty said graciously.

"It's late. You are all dismissed." Director Vance said wearily.

"With your permission, Director, Agent Callen can stay with me for the night." Sam brought up.

"I don't think anyone assumed any differently, Agent Hanna." Vance said with a small smile.

As the agents scattered, the Director turned to Hetty. "I would be extremely grateful if you would spare an aspirin?"

Hetty pulled a little bottle out of her desk. "No gratitude necessary. I have to have a steady supply myself."

Vance gave a little laugh. "They do things like this often?"

"You have no idea."


	7. Chapter 7

Sam opened his door, relieved he didn't have to explain the situation to his wife. She had taken the children to visit their grandmother in Virginia and would not be back for several days; Sam had never been so thankful for his mother-in-law before. Sam's wife was an incredibly patient woman, and she had a soft spot of Callen. But the added stimulation of unfamiliar faces couldn't be good for Callen, on any level.

Callen looked tired, very tired. He was holding his box loosely in one hand and his duffle bag in the other. Sam motioned to the refrigerator as he went to check his answering machine.

"There's some drinks in there if you are thirsty, and I'll order pizza. I'm starved." Sam said with a slight grin, trying to distract his partner from whatever was churning inside his mind.

"Oh, thanks." Callen set his bag down gingerly, as if afraid to get the kitchen floor dirty. Sam dialed a familiar pizza delivery and ordered, turning his back to his partner. Callen had wandered into the living room and was fascinated by something in a corner.

"You okay?" Sam asked, hiding a trace of concern at his partner's intense expression.

"Oh, yeah!" Callen said, face breaking out in a pensive expression. "I was just looking at your pet squirrel. I didn't remember you had one."

Sam felt his forehead furrow. "I don't have a pet squirrel…"

At that moment he saw the beady-eyed animal pressed against the wall, looking at the two men warily. Sam saw it was holding something shiny in its paws.

"You little…" Sam stopped himself from swearing, but only just. "This is war now, Rocky."

The squirrel twitched his tail as if in response, then dropped whatever it was holding and started running.

"No! Get it!" Sam said sharply, lunging for the small animal, which avoided him easily. Callen reached for it, but it evaded his grasp and started running to the kitchen.

Sam lunged for it again, but tripped. He landed on his knees, crashing his shoulder into an end table, causing magazines and DVD cases to cascade down over him. The squirrel, startled, turned and ran back into the living room, jumping over Sam's head and running straight toward Callen.

The blue-eyed man was tensed, watching the squirrel and seemed to be tracking it. He suddenly snatched out and from his cry of triumph Sam assumed he succeeded in grabbing the animal. The sudden cry of anger and pain told him all he needed to know about the squirrel's reaction, however.

"He bit me!" Callen said in a low growl, eyes glittering with purpose. "I'm going to get him for that!"

"Where'd he go?" Sam asked, on his feet by this time, eyes prowling the room. Callen shook his head indicating he didn't know.

"There he goes!" Sam said, pointing at a bushy tail disappearing around the hallway corner. The two men took off after it, and Callen pointed toward the bathroom door. "He's in there!"

Sam pushed the door all the way open and was surprised to see the squirrel braced on the sink, puffed up as large as he could make himself. The animal was chattering its teeth and wriggling its body.

"Careful, Sam. I think he's mad at you." Callen said, putting a hand out. The ex-SEAL gave a little scoffing laugh.

"What's he going to do? Throw a nut at me?" Sam took a step forward to grab the animal. With a little screech, the furry creature threw itself at Sam, landing on his face.

"Get it off, get it off, get it off!" Sam yelled, throwing his hands up to pry the evil rodent off of him. The animal seemed to have no interest in biting him, but moved from his face down to his shoulder, digging its claws in and not letting go.

"Sam, hold still! You're scaring him!" Callen said from Sam's side.

"I'm scaring him?" Sam incredulously as he tried to claw the squirrel from his shoulder.

"Just hold still." Callen was trying to help, but to no avail.

"Ouch! He bit me!" Sam snapped, and with that seemingly parting bite, the squirrel jumped off of Sam and skittered out of the small space back to the living room. Sam and Called were in hot pursuit.

"You're going to pay for that, you little monster." Sam threatened, reaching for his gun as the squirrel crashed into the kitchen door.

"You can't shoot him, Sam!" Called sounded indignant. By this time the squirrel was running again. Sam grabbed a broom and started chasing the squirrel with the broom back towards the door.

"There, go!" He opened the door and swept the frightened squirrel out onto the step. Sam realized in horror there was someone standing there. The pizza delivery man was staring blatantly at the agent, an expression of amusement and fear on his face.

"It's…twelve fifty, sir." He said, taking a step back as Sam dropped the broom.

Sam, embarrassed, paid the man and shut the door, sending one last dark look to the tree in his front yard. He had seen the squirrel run up it as he paid the startled man.

"I am going to get you, you little beast." He muttered as he came back into the house. Callen was sitting on the floor, laughing so hard tears were running down his face.

"Sa…Sam! You should have…have seen his face!" Callen caught his breath enough to state. "He thought you were crazy!"

"Ha ha." Sam set the pizza down with a thump. "Come on. We need to wash these scratches out or they will get infected."

Callen came willingly, still laughing hard. "Are you always this fun, Sam?" He asked as Sam handed him a bottle of disinfectant for his bite.

Sam almost dropped the bandage he was applying to his hand. Callen's manner and voice had been so normal, he had almost forgotten Callen's condition. He glanced at Callen with a small thoughtful frown as they sat down to eat.

Callen's movements were smoother, less jerky than earlier that day. He was no longer stuttering and the lilt was disappearing. Sam suddenly realized with a jolt Callen was 'growing up,' slowly. The stimulus seemed to have had a good effect on him.

Callen looked up at him. "What?" He seemed worried. "Is something wrong?"

Sam shook his head. "No, nothing."

Sam was elated at the apparent progress. Maybe Callen would be back to normal soon.

Sam hoped so.

OOO

The team was roused from their respective sleep at six the next morning by a frantic text from Eric.

_New information, get here ASAP. Urgent. _

The team had obeyed, arriving at about the same time.

"Do you know what is going on?" Deeks asked, sipping coffee like he would just disappear if he didn't have the caffeine.

"No idea." Kensi answered, pulling her still damp hair into a quick ponytail. "Guys?"

She glanced at a tired-looking Sam and a quiet Callen with her last statement.

Sam just shook his head, eyes still drooping slightly. Callen just shrugged. "No one tells me anything." He said with a slight grin.

"I guess we better find out." Deeks said, leading the pack up the stairs to the op center, Callen staying behind like Sam told him.

"Guys!" Nell said as soon as the door opened. "We picked up Spencely and Mallone on a wire tap we put on Spencely phone."

"And we know why Mallone dropped out of the picture. Turns out he made some very powerful crime bosses very angry." Eric continued. "He was living under the radar until about two months ago; then something happened to make him surface. Any ideas what it could be?" The computer tech grinned.

"I'd be very interested to hear what that was, Eric." Sam said, the tone in his voice making it clear he wasn't in the mood to play guessing games.

"Right. Well, turns out, Mallone was diagnosed with lung cancer." Eric brought up a medical report. "He has been spending all this time and illegally gotten money on finding a cure. He finally turned to Spencely; he has a lot of faith in New Age healings."

"But when he visited his cousin, the Marcoli crime family picked up his trail." Nell supplied.

Deeks whistled. "The Marcolis? What did this guy do to make them mad? They make Attila the Hun look like Mother Teresa."

Eric shrugged as he brought up a mugshot. "One of their heavies, Brad Fuly was picked up last night on a traffic violation. He was found with a high powered rifle and almost thirty thousand dollars. He admitted he was contracted to take out Mallone by the Marcolis."

"And Mallone knows it. He called Spencely last night in a panic, telling her he knew they were after him. And that's where it gets really interesting." Nell added, playing an audio clip.

"_Lorna? They took a potshot at me last night." _Mallone sounded out of breath and strained.

"_Are you alright?" _The woman did not sound particularly anxious.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Did you find out about those bruisers that came to your office? Do they work for the Marcolis or the Roths?" _

Kensi whistled at the name of the other power crime family.

"_I've been a little busy covering my own back! That guy I put under…he won't stay under long. They're going to figure out I did it on purpose and they're going to come after me." _The woman snapped peevishly. _"My guess would be they work for Roth family, though. The Roths hire the best, and those two…they were the best. The one I hypnotized? Born killer if I ever saw one." _

Sam's head shot up as he realized the two were talking about Callen and Deeks.

"_I can't get out of L.A, Lorna. They have the airports, bus stations, trains stations, and rental cars covered. Between the both of them…I'm a dead man." _

"_You're a dead man anyway." _Lorna had a little sneer in her voice.

"_Look, I know we've had our differences, but you've got to help me. Meet me at the old playground. Please, Lorna." _

There was a long pause, then the snappish reply. _"Fine. But know this, Vince. I will not go down with you. If they come sniffing around my office again…I can't promise I'll cover for you again." _

"_Are you threatening me?" _The pleading tone had turned cold.

"_I don't have to threaten. You know I'll do it." _Lorna's voice was even colder. _"Three thirty tomorrow. I will wait fifteen minutes and no longer. And I never want to see you again."_

"_Done." _

The clip ended. Nell cleared her throat. "We traced the call, but it was being bounced around by some scrambler. We do have a good idea where the old playground is, though. About three minutes from the neighborhood where both Mallone and Spencely grew up, there is an old, abandoned park." Nell brought up a picture of it on the screen. "Spencely has some pictures of the old place on her Mybook page."

"You hacked her Mybook?" Deeks said with a tinge of admiration.

Eric nodded. "Best way to track a criminal is through what they tell you themselves."

"We got a warrant to, don't worry." Nell added.

"Wait a minute. If Spencely put Callen 'under' on purpose, could she bring him out?" Kensi latched onto the same train of thought going through Sam's mind.

"Why don't we ask her?" Deeks asked. "We could pick her up and cut her a deal. You heard her; she doesn't seem to have a lot of love for her cousin."

"But we don't want to spook her or Mallone." Kensi disagreed. "We should pick up the two of them at their meeting place and squeeze them then."

"But if we have the location wrong, we lose them both and there go our chances of helping Callen." Deeks pointed out.

"We can't risk letting Mallone escape if we are wrong." Sam said, heading off a serious disagreement between the two stressed out agents. "Go pick her up."

The two agents obeyed, Kensi still not convinced it was the best course of action.

Nell asked Sam offhandedly. "Do you think Mallone will trust her if she does cooperate?"

Sam nodded slowly. "He'll trust her. He is hunted, and he is dying. He has nowhere else to turn."

"You do know what else that mean, right?" Eric seemed concerned.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I do." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"It means he has nothing to lose."


	8. Chapter 8

Kensi gripped the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary, muttering under her breath at the lengthy line of traffic fencing them in on all sides. She beat out a staccato rhythm on the leather casing before turning to Deeks, vaguely irritated. "Say something!"

The mop-headed detective gave a start, looking at her blankly. "What? Sorry, I don't think I caught that." He shook his head, sitting up straight and reaching to turn the radio down before realizing it hadn't been on in the first place. He sighed slightly before glancing back up.

She gave him a pointed look, gesturing towards his retreating hand as if proving a point. "You haven't said a word the entire car ride. The silence is killing me, and you are kind of freaking me out." She rolled her eyes slightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Aw, Kensi. Are you admitting you miss my insightful and enlightening conversation?" He grinned widely, spreading his hands as far as he could in the limited space without hitting the other agent. "I knew it. You value my opinions."

"I never said that. But whenever you're quiet, you're either plotting or upset. So, what's up?" She heaved a sigh of relief as the cars began moving. She merged easily into a lane over, following her GPS towards Spencely's home address. They had already been to the office, where a bored looking receptionist informed them the therapist had left an hour before. They weren't too far out, which was a blessing in LA traffic.

"I'm not upset and I'm not plotting. I'm thinking." He retorted, leaning back against the seat.

"Don't strain yourself." Kensi cautioned lightly, slamming on the brakes to avoid a driver that cut in front of them. She showed no reaction while Deeks braced himself against the dashboard with one hand.

"Easy, Mario." He snapped good-naturedly. "And I was thinking about how we're going to interrogate a witness that can literally read our minds."

Kensi gave a short bark of laughter. "She's a hypnotist, not a psychic, Deeks. No one can actually read minds. Well, aside from Hetty, of course."

"Is it bad that I can't tell if you're joking or telling me the truth right there?" He questioned, pointing out the window. "Right up here, Kens."

The brunette followed the directions, pulling up to the curbside of a high-end neighborhood. The stucco houses were nondescript and blended together in a low profile, quiet looking cluster. She doubled checked the house number before getting out of the car, Deeks copying her motion a moment later.

"I'm just saying, this lady is going to be hard." He persisted as he fell into step with Kensi, crossing the short sidewalk leading to the correct house. She nodded in agreement, but Deeks held up a hand before she could speak. He pointed to the front door of the house; a woman in a tracksuit was just leaving. A quick glance confirmed it was Lorna Spencely.

"Excuse me!" Kensi called, Deeks making an abortive motion with his hand a second too late. The woman looked up, going pale as she stepped back. Without hesitation, Spencely took off across her lawn away from the agents. Kensi growled a little in frustration as she followed suit, calling after her. "Federal agents, stop!"

Lorna didn't appear to have any intention of stopping as she veered around a corner, momentarily out of sight. Kensi and Deeks put on another burst of speed, rounding the same alley and regaining view of their quarry. Up ahead, a tall gate blocked the entrance way. Spencely leapt upwards, clinging to the metal links and scrambling upwards.

She wasn't quite fast enough as Deeks jumped forward, catching her jacket and hauling her down non-too-gently. "Nice vertical. Maybe you should have tried for the NBA instead of the whole criminal thing." He commented, almost cheerfully.

"I'm not a criminal!" She spat viciously, twisting to get out of his grip.

Deeks scowled slightly. "Then why were you running from us?"

Spencely glanced up. "I thought you were coming to kill me. I'll be damned if I get killed because of that fool Mallone."

Kensi pulled her badge, flashing it quickly. "I'm Agent Blye, NCIS. This is Detective Deeks, LAPD. We have some questions for you concerning your connections to Vincent Mallone. You can come willingly or I will formally charge you."

The woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You can't charge me. I haven't done anything."

"Obstruction of justice and interfering in a federal investigation is a nice start. And you hypnotized another federal agent and left him in a trance. Not sure, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal too." Deeks piped up again.

"Hey, when you came to my office, I thought you working for the Roths." She protested. "I don't want any trouble."

"So will you answer our questions?" Kensi pressed.

Spencely looked around, uneasily. "Not here. Too exposed; I don't want to be seen with you guys. And I want a deal."

Kensi bit back a sigh of victory. "I think that can be arranged." She finally said, glancing at Deeks as if they had to seriously consider it. "But you have to tell us everything."

"Done." The answer was sharp, firm, and a little too quick. Deeks escorted the woman back to the car as Kensi sent a quick text to Nell and Eric, outlining the game plan of taking Spencely back to the boatshed, hoping for some answers.

Of course, her first hope was that the therapist could reverse her actions and help Callen. And soon.

"You want to do _what?" _Sam stared at Eric like he had just suggested shooting the agent and leaving him in the desert.

"Just hear me out." Eric held up his hand. "Giving Callen all of his case files might help stimulate his mind. Start connecting all the dots, if you will. I talked to Nate about it and everything."

"Nate was the one that told us we shouldn't push him." Sam crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. Eric looked out of his element without the giant screen computers and technology buzzing around him. The analyst shifted, frowning a moment.

"Nate said it was fine as long as we didn't go too far, and didn't stress him out about it." Eric tried again. "What else are we going to do? Sit around and wait for Callen to go through his mid-mid-_mid_-life crisis? Or trust the same woman that did this to him to fix him?"

"Callen isn't broken." Sam said simply. "And we shouldn't be taking the risk of actually hurting him by screwing around with things we know nothing about."

Eric looked affronted. "I wouldn't say we know nothing. Are you missing out on the part where I said Nate was on board? This is his profession, after all. And he cares about Callen as much as we do. He wouldn't give me permission to do something that could injure him. Neither would Het-"

He stopped abruptly, but Sam picked up on it. "You already asked Hetty?" The older man leveled a baleful look at the computer tech, making him squirm.

"Well…sort of. Yeah. I asked her and Director Vance about it. At this point, they are willing to try anything."

Sam sighed in aggravation, narrowing his eyes a little. "So why ask me? If they gave their blessing."

"They told me I had to ask you for the final vote. You know him the best out of all of us." He said diplomatically.

Sam tilted his head back, turning it over in his head. "You saw what happened when we just mentioned Mallone." He gestured towards his own head, remembering the pain Callen had been in. "How will his old cases be any different?"

Eric wouldn't back down. "We don't know if it would be. But we don't really have anything from his childhood, except for his house. Which you already tried. The only things we have documented that we can help him remember are the things he has done with NCIS. It's a start, right?"

The ex-SEAL growled under his breath, then finally conceded the point. "Alright, fine. But only as a backup if Spencely doesn't cooperate. And if he starts having a reaction, we stop. Deal?"

Eric clasped his hands in a dramatic gesture. "Yes, thank you." He looked almost excited. "You'll have to help me find the files. Which ones you think will help him the most." He checked his cell phone suddenly. "Kensi and Deeks are taking Spencely to the boatshed."

"Good. They'll be able to get her to help." Sam spoke with more confidence than he felt. "Where is Callen, anyway?"

"He's with Nell-" Eric broke off suddenly as he spotted the analyst in question speaking with Hetty, a bit frantically. "Uh oh."

Sam was on his feet quickly, Eric on his heels as they approached Hetty's office. Nell turned, face drawn and worried.

"Nell? What's wrong?" Sam asked quickly, a sudden sinking feeling overwhelming him.

The short woman shook her head, glancing between Hetty, her partner and Sam with equal anxiety. "Callen's gone. He was so quiet I didn't even know he wasn't there…"

Sam relaxed marginally. "Again? Don't worry, I'm sure he is just hiding again. Did you check the training room?"

Nell shook her head frantically. "No, you don't understand. He's gone. He left the building. I caught him on our cameras going outside."

Sam and Hetty both shared a look of shock. "I thought everyone knew to keep him inside!" Sam exploded.

Nell looked stressed to tears. "Apparently not everyone knew. He just walked off."

"Are you telling me he is out in Los Angeles, alone?" Eric looked worried himself.

Hetty was the one to break the silence that followed. "I'm afraid that is exactly what Ms. Jones is saying."

_NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA_

_Author's Note: _

_Oh my goodness. I am so, so sorry that I haven't updated this in so long. And I am sorry it is so short; I just wanted to get it posted. I had some personal problems going on and couldn't bring myself to write. Then I got way behind on the show as well. I finally am getting back into the swing of writing and should be updating regularly again. I apologize again, and I hope those of you that are still reading will enjoy the installment. _


	9. Chapter 9

"I want every camera you've got pulled up." Sam barked, glaring at the big screen like he could hold the reflective surface directly responsible for his partner's disappearance. Eric and Nell jumped to obey as Hetty and Director Vance stepped into the Op center with mirroring grim expressions.

"I was under the impression that this team could handle Agent Callen's condition." The Director started without preamble. "Did I not tell you that he was to be watched at all times?"

"Director, we're talking about _Callen." _Eric tried to intercede on Nell's behalf. "If he doesn't want to be watched, we aren't going to be able to."

The younger man fell into rebuked silence at the look Vance leveled at him. After a moment of stifling silence, Nell spoke up quickly. "I take full responsibility for Callen's escape. I should have been more aware of what was going on and where he was."

Vance softened a little. "Assigning blame is not going to help anyone, Ms. Jones. Eric has a good point. This is Callen; which means we need to find him. Fast."

Sam worried at the inside of his cheek, eyeing the two camera angles the analysts had pulled onto the screen. "That's it?" He demanded.

"We don't have a lot of cameras around on purpose." Eric explained, mildly exasperated. "Our own cameras just picked up Callen making it to the street and taking off." He showed the clip in question.

"He appears to be agitated." Hetty intoned quietly, commenting on the look of unease on the agent's face. Sam grunted in agreement, unsettled by the sudden disappearing act Callen had pulled.

"We're tracking his cell phone now. It is switched on, but it is somewhere with really spotty coverage." Nell offered, showing her hand held in a subdued manner. "We're trying to get a solid connection."

"I told him to keep it on him." Sam didn't relax. "At least he did that much." He paused a second. "Call it."

"Agent Hanna?" Director Vance looked at him with the same pensive expression Hetty was giving him from the other side.

"He's spooked about something. He's running away from something, not us. He'll answer. He's scared." He clarified his reasoning. "It's not like he is trying to drop off the grid this time. He wouldn't know how."

It felt odd, knowing his partner didn't know his basic 'survival' training. If Callen had truly wanted to run and remembered how to vanish, the phone would be off and thrown into the ocean by now. Eric and Nell accepted the statement and tried to connect to the cell phone when it was in a clear coverage area. While Eric placed the call, Nell activated the tracer.

Sam crossed his arms as the phone started ringing. There was a long moment before the ringing stopped short. It didn't go to voicemail. Hetty glanced at Eric and the computer technician nodded to convey that the call was connected.

"G?" Sam tried, hearing the slight catch of someone breathing on the other end of the call.

"Sam?" The voice was strained, confused.

"Yeah, G. It's me. Where are you?" Sam pressed gently. "Are you okay?"

Nell brought up a picture suddenly, pointing at it emphatically. Sam nodded, seeing the blinking red tracer dot light up the area on the map. Callen, accompanied by his phone, was apparently outside a public library. Eric brought up a surveillance camera from the building, showing the agent hunkered down on the bench outside the building. The man seemed alright, but it was hard to tell.

"G? You there?" He prompted again as the silence went unbroken.

"I'm here." The answer finally came, hesitant and laced with distrust. Sam didn't have time to be offended.

"You worried us, buddy. Why did you leave?"

"You're hiding something." The answer was almost angry. "And you're going to s..send me away again."

Sam blinked in surprise at the retort. "We're not sending you away. Where did you hear that?"

"The guy in the suit. He was talking to Het..Hetty about it." Callen was stumbling over his words again, looking up and glancing around on screen. He didn't seem to know the camera was watching him.

Sam swiveled to look at Director Vance and Hetty quickly. "What did they say?" He asked Callen quietly as the two leaders looked confused.

"He wanted to move me to another house." Callen insisted. "A safe place or something. I don't want another safe place. They're…never safe. So I left."

Realization dawned on the assembled group. "Did he say 'safe house?'" The question was directed at Vance as well as Callen. The director nodded quickly as Hetty confirmed it.

"Yeah! That's it." Callen was on his feet now, making them tense up.

"He meant that we would stay with you, G. Not that we were sending you off somewhere alone." Sam quickly answered. There was another pause.

"You didn't want me to leave?" He was puzzled now.

"No, of course not." Sam assured. "Will you come back? Can I come get you?"

Callen seemed to think it over. "Yeah…I'll come back. I'm at the li_br_ary." He put an unconscious emphasis on the middle consonants, as if remembering not to slur them.

"Okay, G. Just stay there for me, okay?" Sam let the tension bleed from his shoulders.

"Okay, Sam." He sounded contrite. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, bud. Just wait for me." He rubbed his forehead. "I'll be there soon."

Callen didn't say goodbye, simply disconnected the call.

Eric kept the cameras trained on the agent as Sam headed for the door.

"Agent Hanna-" Director Vance tried to call after the determined man, but was met with a sliding door for a response. He glanced at Hetty, who held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I'm sure they can handle it." She said simply.

"Callen just bolted. He could have completely vanished. I can't have a mentally unstable federal agent running around. It is a threat to public safety. And his own, more importantly." Vance didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to.

"Leon, you know as well as I do that Agent Callen wouldn't hurt an innocent person." Hetty reproached.

"In his right mind." The director quantified, raising one eyebrow.

Hetty went stubbornly silent, choosing her next words carefully. "What are you saying, Director?"

"I'm saying…watch him. We don't want to have to lock him up somewhere." He looked at her meaningfully.

"I'm sure my team can handle him." She insisted, ignoring the dubious look Nell and Eric gave each other. This was not the time for self doubt; they would need all the confidence they could find.

"See that they can. Or it will be out of my hands." He warned, not looking any happier than she felt.

OoO

Kensi waited expectantly, scowling at the woman in front of her. Spencely had been a less than cooperative witness, despite her eagerness to make a deal. She had demanded that she be allowed a cigarette, but the agents had refused.

"What are you looking at?" Lorna snapped as she tapped a manicured finger against the pitted table. "I answered your questions already."

"No, you answered a question. Which was 'Do you want some water?'" Deeks interjected. "Where's Mallone?"

"I told you. I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow afternoon." She shrugged. "I don't know where he is until then."

"Okay, let's try an easier one." Kensi leaned back a little. "Why does your cousin have two crime families on his tail?"

Spencely frowned heavily a moment. "He was laundering money for both of them, as well as arranging some business deals for them on the side. Real jack of all trades. A while back he arranged a deal between the two of them. A gun sale or something." She flicked her wrist. "I don't know the details. Anyway. The Roths went to pay the Marcolis and noticed some of their numbers weren't adding up. The Marcolis noticed the same thing when they checked their own records. Their money was disappearing into the same account; Vince's."

Deeks gave a low whistle. "Those are not the two cookie jars you want to be caught with your hand in."

Spencely nodded emphatically. "Exactly. He disappeared with the money…there was a lot of it. But more importantly, he disappeared with the Roths' records. Not just their bank records; their files on all of their people. It was his insurance they wouldn't kill him."

Kensi raised an eyebrow. "He has proof of the Roth syndicate's crimes?"

"All saved and organized on a flash drive. He put it in a safe deposit box." She sighed. "Apparently there were a few more files on there too. A scandal; the youngest Roth son cutting the Marcolis in on some of their business behind his old man's back. It's enough to incite a mob war if it falls into the Marcolis' hands. His plan was that if he couldn't get away on his own, he'd turn the drive over to them."

"They would be so busy exacting revenge on each other that he could slip out of town on the next plane." Deeks tacked on, realization crossing his face.

"That was the idea." She agreed.

"Why are you shielding him?" Kensi asked, flipping open the file in front of her. "You don't seem to have a lot of love for Mallone."

"I don't. But he is family. And blood is thicker than water and all that." She rolled her eyes, sounding bored.

"You know what else are thick? Prison bars." Deeks said grimly. "And you're looking at your very own set if you don't help us. You know too much about this not to be involved. We will find your connection, trust me."

"In fact, our analysts are seizing your records as we speak. Probably tracing your bank statements. You make, what, ninety thousand a year with your therapy business?" Kensi held up a sheet of paper. "You've been getting a lot of transactions recently. Are you laundering money too? Or maybe using your skills to get information for your cousin's network?"

The young woman's face blanched, and they knew they struck a nerve. She seemed to consider it, spreading her hands. "I said I'd help you, didn't I? I'm talking, aren't you?"

"Yes, you're saying just enough to keep us in here." Kensi cut in. "Why don't you tell us something we can actually use. Like where this safe deposit box is located."

She studied her nails a moment. "Okay. I can take you to it, but it is empty. I gave Vince the flash drive after you and your friend came to my office." She glanced at Deeks, smugly.

Kensi resisted the urge to rake her nails down the woman's face. She had the feeling they were being played, but she couldn't put her finger on how or why. By all accounts, they had the upper hand. "Alright. What about Mallone. You have to have a way to contact him."

"I have a phone number. Which you have too, if you've been tracing my calls. He rarely has it on him and never turned on. I leave messages when I have to." She rested her head against her hand, rubbing her temple as if getting a headache. "Hey, I've told you everything I know. I said I want a deal; hold up your end of the bargain."

Deeks and Kensi shared a glance. "Okay." The female agent finally agreed. "Here's our deal. You go to your meeting tomorrow as planned. You help us catch Mallone and recover this flash drive. We put in a good word for you, get you a light sentence."

"And you bring Agent Callen out of his trance." Deeks tacked on firmly.

Spencely pursed her lips. "The first one I can do. The second one…will be tricky. He's got a messed up head, you know? He might not come out so easily."

"You bring him out or there is no deal." Kensi said flatly.

"You would really be willing to risk letting my cousin get away? Or lose out on the chance to bring down two powerful crime families?" Her eyes went cunning. "I know why you want the flash drive. You really willing to risk all of that for one agent?"

The deafening silence said more than any words the agents could voice.

Spencely huffed. "I said I might not be able to, not that I wouldn't try. Fine. You have a deal."

Kensi kept a sigh of relief contained. Finally, something was going right. And for some reason, that made her more nervous than before. As she left the room to inform Hetty of the information, she couldn't help but prick up her ears to hear the proverbial other shoe dropping.


	10. Chapter 10

"You're mad."

Callen's voice startled Sam as he whirled on the sidewalk. He had been combing the front of the library for his partner for a few minutes, worrying that the man had disappeared despite his promise not to. Apparently the agent had kept his word, reluctantly coming up behind Sam with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Sam sighed in relief, his lips folding into a tight line to keep his first response quiet. Callen was spooked enough; he didn't need Sam yelling at him to compound that. "I'm not mad." He said calmly. It was hard to channel his father voice when it came to his partner, but it was the only way to keep from exploding.

He watched Callen relax, his slumped posture straightening a bit. Sam hesitated a moment before continuing. "Don't do that again. Ever. We can't lose track of you." He continued as Callen lowered his eyes slightly. "Are you alright?"

Callen nodded at the question. "Yeah. Head hurts." He said quietly, almost as an afterthought. Sam frowned at that, but Callen's head had been hurting since the start of the entire fiasco. It wasn't high on their list of priorities unless it was blinding agony, like before.

The ex-SEAL jerked his head towards the curb. "Come on; let's go back to the office." He lowered his voice, noticing a few passerbies giving the pair strange looks. They were supposed to be maintaining a low profile; so much for that. There was only so many ways to stay inconspicuous when a full grown man was shuffling his feet like a scolded child in the middle of a public walkway.

Callen brightened marginally at the mention of the familiar place, moving to fall into step with Sam as they headed for the Challenger. It wasn't too hard for him to keep pace with the other man; years of walking in sync made enough of an impression that even hypnosis couldn't overpower it. It made Sam smile slightly, his irritation starting to dissipate.

"I'm sorry." Callen said quietly as he ducked into the passenger side. Sam sighed as he crossed around the front of the vehicle, slipping in himself.

"Don't worry about it. I get it." And he did. Without having the situation explained to him, Callen would have assumed that he was about to lose another 'home.' Sometimes the instinct to run away before he was dragged away overruled any other sensible decision.

Mollified by the comment, Callen leaned back and put on his seat belt. He was quiet another moment before he started speaking, hesitantly. "I'm starting to remember other things."

Sam looked over at him quickly. "Like what?" He asked, trying not to sound too eager as he pulled out onto the main road once more.

Callen mulled over it a second. "A lot of running." His voice gained a little confidence, the careful speech and childish diction slipping away for a moment. "Playing with guns. Chasing people and knocking them down." He eyed Sam a moment. "Sister Ruth always said it wasn't right to knock people down, at the orphanage." He didn't struggle over the word, and Sam didn't know if it was because Callen had to say it so much in his life, or if the stutter was a thing of the past again.

Sam realized that he was supposed to respond to the comment. "It's okay for you to knock down some people, now. It's your job." He said mildly.

Callen's eyes widened. "Really?" He grinned slowly. "That is so cool."

Sam belatedly wondered if that had been a bad thing to tell the other man. "Only bad guys. And only if they are running away from you." He hastened to clarify.

Callen just rolled his eyes. "Duh." He stressed the word dryly. "Why would you knock down a good guy?" He went quiet for most of the car ride back to the OSP center, looking like he was trying to work through something difficult. Sam was silent, letting him think.

It wasn't until they were out of the car and heading to the doors that Callen spoke again. He turned his head towards Sam, frowning heavily. "Sam, do I shoot people?" He looked a little distressed over it.

Sam stopped still, his hand on the doorknob. He pulled back a moment, debating that. Lying to Callen wouldn't help him, and he knew it. He looked over at his partner a moment before nodding . "Only the bad guys." He said again, firmly.

Callen looked down at his hands for a second. "Do I help people?"

"Yes." The answer was instantaneous and sincere.

Callen straightened up again, nodding once like something had just been settled. "Alright." He reached out and tugged the door open himself, heading inside quickly. Sam hurried to keep up, wondering if he had just helped things or made them worse.

Eric intercepted them in the foyer, looking a little excited. "Hetty wants you in Ops."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Now?"

The analyst nodded. "Kensi and Deeks got Spencely to strike a deal about helping Callen. They want to run it by you." He looked relieved, and Sam couldn't blame him. It would be nice to have Callen back to his usual self, and quickly. He just wondered if that help was coming at a price.

oOo

"I don't like it." Sam's voice came over the speakerphone, sounding even more disgruntled than the words themselves.

Kensi sighed, holding her hands up a little in surrender even if he couldn't see it. "Sam, it's the best we can do. She doesn't think she can really bring him out, and she doesn't want to 'waste a lot of time trying.'" She quoted tiredly. "She wants to just get this whole thing over with."

"And that's why she is insisting on seeing Callen tonight, in her office?" Sam asked suspiciously. "And why no one can be with them when she does? No cameras or recorders in the room?"

Deeks snorted slightly. "Yeah, this one's pretty priceless. She says that other agents could distract him too much. The recording device thing is just her protecting her 'business,' she says." He shook his head. "Apparently hypnotists all use different methods, and she wants to keep hers secret."

"Like a magician." Kensi supplied, looking down at the black triangular device on the table a moment. "I'm telling you, she's a piece of work." Her eyes flickered to the screen, showing the woman in the interrogation room.

"I don't care if she's pulling rabbits out of Deeks's hair; she's not getting around Callen without someone else around." Sam sounded stern. "She's the one that did this to him in the first place. How do we know she isn't still working with Mallone? Why does it have to be tonight; why can't it be after we nab him tomorrow?"

Deeks frowned, looking over at Kensi a moment. "Those are very good questions." He admitted.

"I'm with Sam on this." Nell's voice came over the line. "She could do more damage if she is unsupervised."

"She does seem too eager to help out." Kensi agreed. "I have a bad feeling about it. But I don't think we have any other options. We have to agree."

"Agents." Hetty's unruffled voice cut in. "She believes that she has the upper hand in this situation. If Agent Callen cannot bring himself out of this mental state, she is our last resort. But she is not a sorceress; we do not need to act so afraid of her."

Kensi raised her eyebrows a little, confused. "But, Hetty…you just said she was in control. I think that's a good reason to be anxious."

"Have you ever been to Las Vegas, Agent Blye?" Hetty replied, and Kensi didn't have to see the woman's face to know she was smirking. "The house always wins, no matter how strong the hand of cards. We might not be in the room, but we will be listening nonetheless. Go ahead and take her back to her office. Agents Hanna and Callen will be there shortly."

Kensi smiled slightly, shaking her head. "No cameras or bugs in the room. That _does _leave a pretty big loophole." She realized, almost sheepishly. "We can agree to her terms, then."

Deeks grinned slightly. "Gee, Kensi. It's like you forgot we lie for a living."


End file.
